Laguna Cebolla ​Nature

Wednesday, April 10

One special hike we did on the Chilean part of Patagonia was a hike to Laguna Cebolla in Torres del Paine National Park.

Although we had planned our Patagonia trip for weeks and had researched it extensively, we had never read about this hike before. We only learned about the lagoon by chance from a park ranger in the national park, who didn't allow us to go on the hike we had originally planned to do. Because it had unexpectedly snowed during the night and we didn't have ski poles with us the Ranger didn’t let us through. The park ranger then recommended to do the hike to Laguna Cebolla instead, as it was lower in the mountains and therefore not covered in snow. We continued with our rental car to the designated parking lot and started our hike there.

The hike to the lagoon and back was once again incredibly beautiful, and it was the sunniest and warmest day we experienced in Patagonia. The first few hours of the hike took us along the shore of a lake, offering a perfect view of the symbol of Torres del Paine National Park: the three striking rock formations known as "The Three Towers." The view from the shore of the reflected mountains was so perfect it seemed almost surreal. We followed the very narrow trail, uphill and downhill, across meadows and through small forests. The only sounds we heard were flocks of green parrots flying overhead, landing in the trees, and then moving on. The hike itself wasn't particularly difficult, but the walk to the lagoon took longer than initially expected due to the constant walking up and down. The park ranger had told us it was only 11 kilometers. Much later, however, we learned that it was 11 kilometers one way, meaning from the parking lot to the lagoon and back to the parking lot (since we had to pick up our car again), it actually was 22 kilometers! When we realized it had to be 11 km one way, however, we'd been hiking for so long that we didn't want to turn back, so we kept going and eventually made it to the lagoon. There, we sat down, had a small picnic, enjoyed the peace and quiet and the view of the mountains. Later, we set off back, knowing that another 11 kilometers of walking awaited us. The hike was beautiful and very special, as we didn't meet a single other person on the entire way there and back. So, we were completely alone in the breathtaking nature of Patagonia and had an unforgettable day!